Sunning alligators and crocodiles, grazing manatees, swaying sawgrass and more than 340 types of birds enliven the Everglades' vast and diverse South Florida area.

Sue Van Wassenhove's poetry book, The Seldom-Ever-Shady Glades, charms children into the life of the Everglades with details of the bungee-necked, patient herons and spear-fishing anhingas. These tantalizing facts meanwhile introduce young readers to musical, often humorous and varied styles of poetry.

Surrounding the poems are illustrations capturing the moods of night herons below starry skies and young birds confronting hungry alligators, all in Sue's unusual handmade quilts. Stitching traditional patterns still used by South Florida Miccosukee Indians, she frames each quilt with a Seminole patchwork border.

The result is a compelling book to read snuggled with a child or studying ecology in a classroom.